Website visitors

Website activity

Most visitors browse your site anonymously before signing up or logging in. The Outlit Browser SDK captures where they landed, how they arrived, and what they viewed. When the browser visitor identifies, Outlit connects that earlier history to their contact so the path from discovery to conversion joins the later customer context graph. Tracked visitors appear on the Visitors surface in the app.

The anonymous phase

On a first visit, the Outlit Browser SDK assigns a visitor ID and records pageviews, the landing URL, the browser referrer, and any UTM parameters—once tracking is enabled. With the default autoTrack: "auto" mode, tracking starts automatically where the visitor’s region doesn’t require opt-in consent; in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland—or when the region can’t be determined—nothing is stored (no visitor ID, cookie, or localStorage key) until your site calls enableTracking() (see consent management). When the browser visitor later identifies with an email, Outlit links that earlier activity to their profile while keeping its original timestamps. An email-only call from an Outlit server SDK cannot link an otherwise anonymous browser visit.

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A first visit creates anonymous pageview history with a visitor ID. After the visitor submits an email, the Outlit Browser SDK identifies them and Outlit links earlier activity to the contact.

Captured data

Automatic attribution

On first visit, Outlit captures:

Data	Source	Example
UTM Source	URL params	`utm_source=google`
UTM Medium	URL params	`utm_medium=cpc`
UTM Campaign	URL params	`utm_campaign=spring_2024`
First Referrer	Browser `document.referrer`	`https://google.com`
First Landing Page	URL	`/pricing?plan=pro`

Events stored

All events are stored for anonymous visitors and will be linked when they identify:

// All these are tracked for anonymous visitors
outlit.track('pricing_viewed', { plan: 'enterprise' })
outlit.track('demo_video_played', { duration: 120 })
outlit.track('feature_explored', { feature: 'integrations' })

Form data

Form submissions are captured with automatic sanitization:

{
  "type": "form",
  "formId": "contact-form",
  "formFields": {
    "email": "jane@acme.com",
    "name": "Jane",
    "company": "Acme Inc"
  }
}

Sensitive fields (password, credit_card, SSN, etc.) are automatically removed from form data.

Link a visit to a person

When identify() is called, the anonymous history is linked:

// This triggers identity resolution
outlit.identify({
  email: 'jane@acme.com',
  traits: { name: 'Jane Doe' }
})

Here’s what happens:

Find or create contact with the provided email
Link the anonymous visitor to the contact
Historical events are processed:
- All previous events are added to the customer timeline
- Original timestamps are preserved
- The pre-identification journey is now visible on the profile

Timeline after resolution

Jane Doe (jane@acme.com) - Customer Timeline
├── Mar 1, 10:00am - First visited /pricing (anonymous)
├── Mar 1, 10:05am - Viewed enterprise plan (anonymous)
├── Mar 1, 10:10am - Watched demo video (anonymous)
├── Mar 3, 2:00pm  - Returned, viewed /features (anonymous)
├── Mar 3, 2:15pm  - Submitted contact form ← IDENTIFIED
├── Mar 3, 2:20pm  - Viewed /signup
└── Mar 3, 2:25pm  - Created account

Visits across devices

Anonymous tracking is per-browser. The same person on different devices has different visitor IDs until identified. Once someone calls identify() with the same email on multiple devices, their visit histories link to the same contact timeline. Edge cases: If visitors clear cookies, use incognito mode, or share browsers, they may generate new visitor IDs. Call identify() immediately after login—even for returning users—to ensure continuity and accurate tracking.

Device tracking (non-browser)

For native apps without browser storage (desktop apps, mobile apps, CLI tools), use fingerprint instead of visitorId. A fingerprint is a device identifier that you generate and manage.

When to use fingerprint

Environment	Use
Desktop apps (Tauri, Electron)	`fingerprint`
Mobile apps (React Native)	`fingerprint`
CLI tools	`fingerprint`
Browser/Webview	`visitorId` (automatic)

How it differs from `visitorId`

	visitorId	fingerprint
Generated by	SDK (once tracking is enabled)	You (manual)
Stored in	localStorage + cookies	Your app (you decide)
SDKs	Outlit Browser SDK	Outlit Rust SDK, Outlit Node.js SDK

Generating a fingerprint

Use any persistent, unique identifier for the device or installation:

Device UUID - Hardware identifier
Installation ID - Generated on first app launch, stored in app data
Keychain/Secure storage - For sensitive apps

The fingerprint must be:

Consistent across app sessions
Unique per device/installation
Stored persistently by your app

Rust (Tauri)
Node.js (React native)

use outlit::{Outlit, fingerprint, email};

// Get or generate device fingerprint (store in app data)
let device_id = get_or_create_device_id();

// Track anonymously
client.track_by_fingerprint("feature_used", fingerprint(&device_id))
    .property("feature", "export")
    .send()
    .await?;

// Later, when user signs in
client.identify(email("user@example.com"))
    .fingerprint(&device_id)
    .send()
    .await?;
// ^ All previous fingerprint events are now linked to this user

import { Outlit } from '@outlit/node'

// Get or generate device fingerprint
const deviceId = await getOrCreateDeviceId()

// Track anonymously
outlit.track({
  fingerprint: deviceId,
  eventName: 'feature_used',
  properties: { feature: 'export' }
})

// Later, when user signs in
outlit.identify({
  email: 'user@example.com',
  fingerprint: deviceId
})
// ^ All previous fingerprint events are now linked to this user

Events tracked with only a fingerprint are stored but not visible in customer timelines until linked via identify(). Once linked, they appear with their original timestamps.

Privacy considerations

Ask your Outlit contact about the retention and deletion policies that apply to your workspace. A visitor ID is a pseudonymous identifier; successful identification can link the associated activity to a known customer. With the default autoTrack: "auto" mode, tracking stays off—and nothing is stored—for visitors in regions that require opt-in consent (EEA, UK, Switzerland, or unknown) until your consent tool calls enableTracking(); see consent management for the setup. disableTracking() persists an opt-out for visitors who decline, and enableTracking() resumes collection when appropriate. To wait for enableTracking() instead — unless a previous opt-in is stored — initialize with autoTrack: false.

Next steps

Customer context graph

How visitors fit into the unified data model

Identity resolution

How anonymous visitors become known contacts

Outlit Browser SDK

Detailed browser integration guide

Agents

CLI

Concepts

Outlit SDKs

Examples

Website visitors

Website activity

The anonymous phase

Captured data

Automatic attribution

Events stored

Form data

Link a visit to a person

Timeline after resolution

Visits across devices

Device tracking (non-browser)

When to use fingerprint

How it differs from `visitorId`

Generating a fingerprint

Privacy considerations

Next steps

Customer context graph

Identity resolution

Outlit Browser SDK

​Website activity

​The anonymous phase

​Captured data

​Automatic attribution

​Events stored

​Form data

​Link a visit to a person

​Timeline after resolution

​Visits across devices

​Device tracking (non-browser)

​When to use fingerprint

​How it differs from visitorId

​Generating a fingerprint

​Example: tracking before sign-in

​Privacy considerations

​Next steps

Customer context graph

Identity resolution

Outlit Browser SDK

Website activity

The anonymous phase

Captured data

Automatic attribution

Events stored

Form data

Link a visit to a person

Timeline after resolution

Visits across devices

Device tracking (non-browser)

When to use fingerprint

How it differs from `visitorId`

Generating a fingerprint

Example: tracking before sign-in

Privacy considerations

Next steps